Now With More Genius: GZA Will Join Us Onstage At The Crunchies

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The 6th Annual Crunchies Awards promises to be the best yet. We’ve announced the finalists who are all excited to don their mostformal hoodies and join us for tech’s big night. The Daily Show’s John Oliver will be our evening’s host and this fine Monday morning we’d like to announce that GZA will be in the house. GZA/The Genius, a founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan, will be joining us on stage and performing at Davies Symphony Hall.

In addition to his work with the Wu-Tang Clan, GZA’s 1995 solo effort, the RZA-produced Liquid Swords, met with critical and commercial acclaim, and is largely considered one of the best albums to come out of the Wu-Tang camp.

GZA’s subsequent solo projects were all received with high praise: Beneath the Surface (1999); Legend of the Liquid Sword (2002); Grandmasters (2005) with DJ Muggs (producer for hip-hop group Cypress Hill) which saw GZA using chess as a metaphor for the rap game; and finally, Pro Tools (2008) which features production from past collaborators RZA, Mathematics, and True Master. GZA’s latest album, entitled DARK MATTER, will be released on BabyGrande in 2013.

So how is this at all tech-related? Well, GZA has recently teamed with Professor Christopher Emdin of Teachers College and startup rapgenius.com, to sponsor SCIENCE GENIUS, a battle that will have students from ten select New York City public high schools competing to write the best rap about science. Their entries will be judged not only according to the usual academic rubric but also to certain criteria for the rap itself.

As always, the Crunchies will be filled with surprises. Who knows? Perhaps Crunchies finalists and Rap Genius investors Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen will connect with GZA and make the night just a bit more memorable. Join us on January 31st for all of the fun. Tickets are available now. And vote for your favorite finalists!